Overview

Alfa Romeo hasn’t played in the small family car market since the Giuletta hatchback was pulled from the showrooms in 2020 – but the Junior Ibrida marks the start of the company’s comeback. It’s based on the same underpinnings as the Junior Elettrica and Junior Veloce EVs but, instead of an electric motor, it’s powered by the same 1.2-litre mild-hybrid petrol powertrain found in the combustion versions of the Fiat 600 and Jeep Avenger.

Because it doesn’t have an expensive battery pack, the Junior Ibrida is far more affordable than its electric sister cars. Prices for the Junior Elettrica start from around £34,000, while the Ibrida costs a shade under £28,000. That’s a significant saving – and one that Alfa Romeo reckons will make it much more attractive to buyers.

Despite its lower starting price, I’m not sure the Junior Ibrida is worth taking a gamble on. Alfa Romeo champions the car as the driver’s choice in the B-segment SUV class but, having spent a day carving around the mountains of northern Italy in one, I couldn’t overlook the Ford Puma for it. Scroll down to find out why.

What’s it like inside?

We’re off to a bad start, I’m afraid, because the Junior Ibrida’s cabin is naff. The plastics used for the door cards and dashboard top feel particularly low rent, while the switchgear is a tasteless casserole of Citroen, DS, Fiat, Jeep and Peugeot parts. Nothing’s unique to the Junior and none of the parts match.

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The Junior’s steering wheel was robbed from the DS 4, its climate control panel is shared with the Fiat 600, its infotainment was exhumed from the Peugeot/Citroen parts bin and its automatic gear selector is the same shonky toggle switch you’ll find in a Berlingo van. For a brand that’s supposed to be going toe-to-toe with the likes of MINI and Volvo, it isn’t anywhere near good enough.

Space isn’t exactly sparkling, either – a trait shared amongst every car on Stellantis’ CMP architecture. Much like the Avenger, you’ll struggle to squeeze yourself into the rear seats if you’re any taller than 5’7”, as the bulky front seat backs and clumsy slider mechanisms devour both knee room and foot space. At least the Junior’s boot is roomy at 415 litres. That’s only 41 litres behind the class-leading Ford Puma.

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On a slightly more humorous note, I’m pleased to report Stellantis still hasn’t managed to kill Alfa’s slightly mad streak. You can specify the Junior with a set of Sabelt racing seats – and I fell in love with them. They have a far lower hip point than the standard chairs and much better bolstering around your thighs and kidneys. The problem? They cost £4,000, which is more than 10% the cost of the car. That’s a tough sell.

Alfa Romeo Junior Ibrida engines

The Junior Ibrida is only available with one powertrain. It teams Peugeot’s famously gruff 1.2-litre three-cylinder petrol engine with a dinky 48-volt mild hybrid motor mounted in the car’s six-speed automatic gearbox. It has a combined output of 136hp and claimed fuel economy figures of 57.6 and 58.9mpg.

Alfa Romeo says the biggest advantage of this setup (compared to the sort of engine-mounted mild hybrid system you’ll find on a Ford Puma) is that it allows the Junior to creep around on electric power alone, in scenarios such as parking or navigating dense traffic.

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However, it isn’t as keen to use electric power as Alfa led me to believe. The company’s engineers proudly explained how, during testing, the Junior Ibrida could potter around in EV mode for more than 30% of the time. But I struggled to keep the car in electric mode for more than 100 yards at a time when crawling around Turin at 5mph.

What’s it like to drive?

It’s… fine. But as much as they tried to convince me otherwise, Alfa Romeo’s engineers aren’t miracle workers. Remember – the Junior Ibrida shares its underpinnings with cars such as the Jeep Avenger and Peugeot 2008, neither of which are known for their dynamic ability. Having experienced the truly wonderful Giulia saloon, I was rather disappointed.

However, I will concede that the Junior is the best-driving version of Stellantis’ CMP chassis I’ve yet experienced. Alfa has tweaked the car’s damping, spring rates and anti-roll bars, along with all the software controlling the brakes and steering – and it has made a difference.

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The Junior is more playful than the Avenger and, because it has slightly stiffer damping and a stiffer body, it holds its line better and doesn’t roll around in corners as much. The steering also has a decent weight to it once you wind in more than an eighth of a turn.

It isn’t without its faults, though. The steering doesn’t self-centre especially well, which caught me out a couple of times before I got used to it. Plus, the low-speed ride is quite unsettled, particularly on the car’s largest 18-inch alloy wheels, and the changeover from regenerative to friction braking would benefit from some further refinement. Oh yeah, and my test car rattled like its dashboard was filled with ball bearings.

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At least the engine is quite characterful. I’ve liked PSA’s 1.2-litre three-cylinder engine ever since I tried it in a manual-equipped Citroen C3 Aircross, as its punchy for its displacement and it does a convincing impression of a V6 when you wring its neck. The throttle response is quite doughy, mind, but I suspect most drivers won’t really care.

The engine isn’t unpleasantly rattly in the Junior, either, as Alfa has made merry with the sound deadening and muffling. The sound the engine makes is restrained and tuneful rather than irritating and thrashy. Plus, the door rubbers do a great job of sealing the cabin from the air rushing over the body, so the Junior remains quiet on the motorway.

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Sadly, the automatic gearbox really lets the engine down. It might be a six-speed dual clutch unit, but it acts like the sort of slushy three-speed automatic gearboxes you’ll find on a badly maintained American classic. The shifts are achingly slow – and even if you force the gearbox to operate in manual mode, it’ll shift up long before you even think about pulling the cheap and plasticky paddle shifters. Not what you want in a ‘driver’s car.’

What models and trims are available?

The Alfa Romeo Junior Ibrida is only available in one specification in the UK. Standard kit includes 17-inch alloy wheels, LED headlights, rear parking sensors, a 10.25-inch digital gauge cluster and a 10.25-inch infotainment system. It’s worth noting that the touchscreen doesn’t have its own sat-nav system as standard, but you do get wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto to solve that issue.

Because the car’s only available in one specification, Alfa has designed a load of option packs to let you customise your car. I’ve already mentioned the £4,000 Sabelt seats, but you can also have a £2,000 ‘Premium Pack’ that adds electrically adjustable and massaging front seats, a leather steering wheel, a black body kit and aluminium pedals.

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Alfa’s £2,200 technology pack is probably the most sensible option. It adds loads of useful features, including Matrix LED headlights, a wireless smartphone charger, all-round parking sensors, traffic sign recognition, heated door mirrors and a couple of extra USB ports.

You can also spend £660 on a set of larger wheels but, given how poor I found the low-speed ride on the Ibrida’s largest 18-inch alloys, I’d recommend you stick with the standard wheels for the extra sidewall padding.